I follow Indian railways on
Twitter (@depalan) since I mostly use trains as means to travel so would like
to keep myself abreast on happening in this area. So it was such a pleasant surprise
to know that two trains have been recently named after works of venerable literary
figures. The first one is Tutari Express, Tutari is poem written by revolutionary
Marathi poet Keshavsut, this poem is iconic for its call against injustice. Enchantingly
during the inauguration of this train service poems of Keshavsut were recited. What a wonderful precedence
this is setting. The Railway Minister need to be lauded for this unique and subtle
effort. Mr. Suresh Prabhu, who is known to be quite competent, has this to say ‘trains
are not just a medium of transport but the heart and soul of India’.
The other train is a new one connecting Hubbali to Mysuru, and is named Vishwa Manava Express, in reverence to concept of Vishwa manava ie ‘universal man’ elucidated by Kannada poet laureate Kuvempu, who was based in Mysuru most his life. Apart from literary aspect this train was long due, particularly from Bangalore to Mysore as most were dependent on Chamundi Express for the evening, after office hour, at 6.15pm. It always runs on full capacity, and many a times I had to stand atleast for 2hours (till it reached Mandya) to get some space to sit. So this train that leaves Bangalore at 5.40pm is something that was awaited for a long time.
The other train is a new one connecting Hubbali to Mysuru, and is named Vishwa Manava Express, in reverence to concept of Vishwa manava ie ‘universal man’ elucidated by Kannada poet laureate Kuvempu, who was based in Mysuru most his life. Apart from literary aspect this train was long due, particularly from Bangalore to Mysore as most were dependent on Chamundi Express for the evening, after office hour, at 6.15pm. It always runs on full capacity, and many a times I had to stand atleast for 2hours (till it reached Mandya) to get some space to sit. So this train that leaves Bangalore at 5.40pm is something that was awaited for a long time.
Incidentally I have visited the
birthplace of Keshvasut (Krishnaji Keshav Damle) in Ratnagari (visit me http://iseeebirds.blogspot.in/2014/03/pretty-bird-is-crested-bunting.html)
as also there is a writeup on Kuvempu (Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa) when I visited
his residence in Mysore many years back (visit me at http://iseeebirds.blogspot.in/2010/03/?m=0 )
I have been going through the
names of trains in india, and there are few literary references in naming that I
found interesting. There is a train named ‘Godan Express’ after Munshi
Premchand’s acclaimed novel by the same name. Kavi Guru Express in reference to
venerable poet and humanist Rabindranath Tagore (initiated by Ms MamtaBanerjee
in 2011), there are also trains named Vishwabarati that has connection to Tagore’s
education institutions. Another one is ‘Padadik Express’ named after renowned
Bengali poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay's book Padatik
(Guerrilla fighter), Silambu (anklet), also has classical tamil literary reference.
There is also Chemmozhi Express (classical language).
Rarely are trains named after any
literary figure but subtly appreciating their creative works and significance (though I must add the
number are quite less of all the 4244 express trains only handful), it shows subtlety
as also relevance. Except ofcourse Kaifiyat Express, the grossness has more to
do with narcissistic nature of crude people who intensely lobbied for it (in
the name of art and culture these philistines have severely degraded institutions
in the last few decades for personal gains and influence), as also these scoundrels being enmeshed in market
hedonism (which ofcourse gets liberal points) are worshippers of branding. This
blogger strongly protest against this small time peripheral poet being given so
much importance, it has to do with nepotism as also sycophancy nurturing
leadership. If corrupt nepotistic feudal sycophants come back to power (highly unlikely, and aren't we grateful) then probably we may even have to endure ZK Express!!
There is a train named Mahamana Express
(in honour of educationist Madan Mohan Malviya), mythical figure ‘Maveli’, historical
figures like Tippu, erstwhile kingdoms like Chalukya, names with religious
connotation but good to hear like Upasana, Vibhuti, Tapovan, Kumbha, as also
Ziyarat. Names with historic significance like Chaurichaura (as expected Gandhian
reference takes precedence in many names), Deekshabhoomi express (Buddhism site
marking the conversion to Buddhism by Ambedkar) so on. Trains that have enchanting
names like Black diamond express (for coal mines from where the train originates),
Pearl city Express (for Tutukudi). Then there
are names on mountains –Kanchanjunga, rivers –Kaveri and many more, even tree –
Mahuva. Other interesting names include Prerna, Toofan, Varuna, Udyan (Garden
for Bangalore). There is a train intriguingly named ‘Teachers special’ while
the one that really besotted me was ‘Uzhavan’ (tiller for Tamil).
